THE CONDITION OP RURAI, UFE 69 



In' March 1914 the Statisiique Generate de la France had collected 

 3200 qiiestionnaires regarding families and 330 regarding villages distributed 

 in forty-nine departments. When it had taken stock of these first results 

 the commission expressed a wish for the extension of the enquiry to all 

 departments. Consequently a certain number of new forms were sent out 

 between March and July 1914. The declaration of war prevented the 

 pursuit of the cnc^uiry and arrested the commission's labour. At the end 

 of July 1914 the Statistiqiie Generale de la France had brought together- 

 3700 questionnaires regarding families and 450 regarding villages distri- 

 buted over fifty-seven departments. The formation, in consequence of the 

 financial law of 15 July 1914, of a department for the observation of prices 

 allowed a first abstract of the forms to be made by this department. 



Thirty departments forwarded no questionnaire, namely Aisne, Al- 

 lier, Ariege, Aude, Cantal, Charente-Inferieure, Cher, Dordogne, Gers, 

 Heiault, Ille-et-Vilaine, Indre, Loire, Loire-Inferieure, Maine-et-I,oire, 

 Manche, Mame, Nievre, Pas-de-Calais, Puy-de-D6me, Hautes-Pyrenees 

 Pyrenees-Orientales, Rhone, Seine, Seine-et-Marne Deux-Sevres, Tarn- 

 et-Garonne, Vendee and Vienne. The papers received were very unequally 

 distributed among the other fifty-seven departments. Some, like Nord, 

 Oise, Saone-et-Loire and Seine-Inferieure, sent in hundreds of question- 

 naires, others a fairly large number of them, and yet others only a few. 

 The larger number of filled-up questionnaires came from rural communes 

 or small towns. Nearly a quarter were signed by schoolmasters. Generally 

 speaking the forms are carefully filled up, with the ex(?eption of the 

 relatively small number filled up by the heads of families themselves. As 

 a rule the investigator has noted the facts, after having questioned those 

 interested and verified data by every means in his power (i). 



§ 2. InCOMK of AGRlCUVrURAI, I,ABOURKRS. 



The category of agricultural labourers comprises journe3'men working 

 at agriculture and labourers working by the day or the piece, agricultural 

 labourers paid by the month, the season or the year, and fanr^ servants. 

 It excludes farmers, meta^^ers and owners cultivating their own lands. 



Of the agricultural labourers reached by the enquiry some were fed by 

 their employers but the majority were not. If the households be grouped 



(i) The families forming the object of the collected monographs may be classified according 

 to the trade follo%vtd by the head of eacli famih- in the following five large groups : i) labourers 

 in factories, commerce and tiausport ; 2) various employees and officials ; 3) artisans and small 

 traders working for themselves ; 4) landowniing agriculturists and farmers and m(^tayers ; 

 5) agricultural labourers. 



